City marks passing of 'giants of neighborhoods'

Sunday

Jan 27, 2013 at 6:00 AMJan 29, 2013 at 1:52 PM

Aaron Nicodemus ON BUSINESS

The business community lost two beloved members this month, men who succeeded in business while also helping their communities, loving their families, and finding ways to make Worcester a better place.

William P. Densmore of Worcester, a civic leader, educational reformer, former Norton Co. executive and founder of the Worcester-based Center for Nonviolent Solutions, died on Jan. 19 at age 88.

Raymond J. Grimaldo Sr. of Shrewsbury, founder of Better Electric Co. Inc. on Grafton Street, died on Jan. 13 at age 85.

Mr. Densmore was the epitome of a civic-minded businessman and a model for what someone can do with their life, once their career ends.

He was a senior vice president at Norton Co. (now Saint-Gobain) for many years until retiring in 1982. He had served on the Massachusetts Board of Education from 1970 to 1977 and was later involved in the state education reform movement of the 1990s.

Once he retired, though, the real work began. He was involved in education, health care, end-of-life policy and nonviolence, according to his obituary in the Telegram & Gazette. He founded the Center for Nonviolent Solutions and was a longtime member of Responsible Wealth, a network of individuals who advocated for fair taxes and corporate accountability. In his retirement, he served on the boards of more than 25 educational, health and community organizations; served as the director of the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education; and taught management classes part time at Clark University and the College of the Holy Cross.

Among his many accolades was the 1997 Isaiah Thomas Award for Distinguished Community Service, which is awarded by the Telegram & Gazette. As he accepted it 15 years ago, Mr. Densmore said, “My experience has been, and I say this when I talk to people about leadership, that once you learn you can make a difference, it feeds on itself. It's reinforcing.”

Former Massachusetts Education Secretary S. Paul Reville wrote about Mr. Densmore in 2008: “He has led the most active, civically committed life I have ever witnessed. He is active on peace studies, health care costs, end-of-life planning, school politics and income distribution … he is my role model … a great catalyst, broker of ideas, a motivator and an inspiration.”

It's probably too many words for an epitaph, but that certainly sums up an incredible life.

Another life was celebrated this week, at the City Council meeting Tuesday night, when Mr. Grimaldo posthumously received a key to the city.

According to his family, Mr. Grimaldo had been scheduled to receive the key; the council instead gave it to his wife of 62 years, Angelina, in front of a packed gallery of friends, family and loyal Better Electric customers.

District 3 Councilor George Russell said that in an age when the city always seems happy to welcome another big-box retailer, Better Electric was one of the many small businesses that keep the city running.

“Better Electric and the Grimaldo family are a good example of what I call the giants of the neighborhoods,” Mr. Russell said.

People have been streaming into Better Electric in the days since Mr. Grimaldo died, to offer their condolences and their warm memories of the man who founded the company in 1948.

He was the type of man who eschewed the flashy in favor of the practical, according to his son, Better Electric president Raymond Grimaldo Jr.

If there were a Mercedes Benz, a BMW, a Corvette and a worn-out Ford F-150 with roll-down windows in his driveway — all four keys in his hand, all gassed up and ready to go — guess which one the elder Mr. Grimaldo would drive to work?

Yup, the pickup truck.

His business philosophy, his son said, was the “Spag's mentality.”

I used to think the “Spag's mentality” was the joy that people in Worcester County felt when they found the stuff they needed at the absolute lowest price, with free parking.

But Mr. Grimaldo's version of the “Spag's mentality” was born more from the source — his friendship with Spag's founder Anthony A. “Spag” Borgatti Jr. Both men were incredibly generous in the community and especially in the Grafton Hill neighborhood where they grew up.

“He was kind to everybody. He was fair with everybody,” Raymond Grimaldo Jr. said of his father. “He came from nothing, built this place up from nothing. He always wanted to provide excellent service to the customer. I think it was something positive.”